Stay Put Garment

ABSTRACT

A nonslip garment is disclosed which prevents the garment from slipping off its wearer. The garment may be fashioned as an infant sock which has at least one nonslip member on the interior top portion of the sock so as to make contact with the top of the wearer&#39;s arch bone. The nonslip member is preferably curved and covers the top side interior portions of the sock as well as at least a portion of the heel surface of the sock, however various configurations are disclosed. An infant scratchglove is also disclosed which preferably has at least one nonslip member on the interior portion of the scratchglove adjacent to the opening of the scratchglove.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to the provisional patent applicationNo. 61/718,601, filed Oct. 25, 2012.

BACKGROUND

Infant garments consist generally of shirts, pants, socks, hats, etc.Infant clothing, especially smaller garments frequently fall off theinfant. For instance, socks and mittens frequently fall off and arelost. Similarly, infant pants can slip down the diaper surface.

Regarding socks, these are one of the essential clothing items forinfants, babies, and young children. Socks provide warmth, comfort, andvisual appeal to a baby's outward appearance. One problem with infantsocks is that they frequently and inconveniently fall off. Attempts toaddress the problems of infant socks falling off the infant suffer fromthe following disadvantages: Attempts to keep the sock in place focus ontightening the sock and/or introducing a separate article to hold thesock in place. This can be uncomfortable for the child and alsointroduces an inconvenient additional step in dressing a child.Concerning attempts to tighten a sock, tightening is either at the topof the sock, or a tightening on the top of the foot via an article whichis attached over the ordinary sock and strapped tight. Another referenceseeks to solve the problem by introducing a separate article, an itemwhich resembles an anklet band, to roll over the foot to hold the sockin place near the ankle. The use of a separate article requires anadditional step in the dressing of the child and introduces the need foryet another item of baby paraphernalia which is easily lost. Thereferences also suffer from the disadvantage of being uncomfortable forthe child.

Despite the overwhelming need for an infant sock which stays in place,none of the previous attempts to solve the problem have resulted in aconvenient, comfortable solution. For the foregoing reason, there is aneed for a stay-on sock that does not require a separate member, northat requires any additional step to be taken by the caregiver otherthan to put on a sock.

Another garment used commonly for infants are mittens known asscratchgloves. These articles prevent the baby from scratching herselfon the face, as trimming infant nails can be challenging. Like socks,these garments suffer from the problem of being frequently lost,slipping, and falling off. By the time it is discovered, the baby mayhave already scratched herself in the face. As with socks, scratchglovesavailable commercially use only elasticized sections near the wrist tokeep the glove in place. They are either too tight, and thereforepotentially uncomfortable for the baby, or too loose and thereforeineffective at staying on the infant. There is therefore a need for aninfant glove which resists removal.

Other infant garments which suffer from the disadvantage of frequentlyfalling off or slipping are pants, skirts, headbands, tights, and anyother garment with an opening. As with socks and scratchgloves, thesegarments all use tightening at the opening as the method of keeping thegarment in place.

Finally, while attempts have been made to fashion garments which preventslipping on, for instance, the floor, these references suffer from thedisadvantage of not solving the problem of the garment itself slippingoff the wearer.

SUMMARY

The problem of infant garments frequently falling off is solved with therecognition that, although infant garments look like smaller versions ofadult garments, they are not subject to the same forces. Infants haveunique movements not made by the majority of adults. Infants crawl,scoot, pull, flail, rub their eyes without regard to whether theirgloves stay in place, etc. Infants can also try to remove clothing thattheir caregivers do not wish removed. Also, infants do not have the sameawareness or understanding as adults as to the effect of their movementson their garments. For example, while adults may take unconscious carenot to, for example, rub their eyes while their hand is gloved withenough force to remove it, infants may not be aware of or understand theeffect of their movement on their glove.

Regarding sock garments, the problem of socks falling off infant feetdiffers from problems involving ill fitting socks for adults becausesocks on infants are subject to different forces than simply the contactwith a shoe, for example, as encountered by adult socks. For one, a sockcan come off a baby's foot due to the forces exerted on the sock whilethe baby is crawling. While crawling, a baby's leg is extended outwardfrom the body and must be drawn back in toward the baby's body in orderto propel the baby's continued crawl. The friction between the sock andthe surface on which the baby is crawling causes the sock to eventuallycome off the foot. The crawling motion also affects infant tights, asforces in the knee during crawling cause the tights to slip off thebody, not simply gravity as in the case of adult tights.

Socks can also come off a baby due to the manner in which babies arecommonly carried, on the hip. When a baby is carried in this matter, itsfeet come into contact with the body of the individual carrying thebaby. Due to the movements of the person holding the baby, the baby'sfeet can drag back and forth across the person's body, resulting inforces that gradually remove the socks. Socks can also be removed by thechild herself. Babies frequently pull on the toes of their own socks andremove them, even though their guardians might not want the socksremoved.

In accordance with this recognition, then, garments described herein areconstructed with one or more nonslip members in at least one location,preferably those locations designed to combat forces encountered by thegarments due to an infant's movements. The nonslip members areconstructed using material with a higher coefficient of friction thanthe garment body, such as medical grade silicone, polyurethane, or oneor a combination of materials so as to produce a coefficient of frictionsimilar to these. The nonslip members form a portion of the garment suchthat at least a portion of one or more nonslip members appears on atleast a portion of the interior of the garment. Variations are possibleand described in the Detailed Description, such as the application ofnonslip surfaces on both the interior and exterior of the garment,

The garment may be socks. Said socks are preferably constructed usingtwo nonslip members applied to the interior of the sock body in theregion of the arch and heel. The sock generally consists of a tubularlower portion with a closed end and an upper portion with an open end(the sock opening). The shape, size, and thickness of the nonslipmembers may vary so as to have the same nonslip effect. The sock bodysize can vary so as to accommodate different aged infants. The sockopening can be at the ankle or higher on the leg by elongating the uppertubular portion. The sock can also be constructed for use as a pair oftights, in which instance, the preferred embodiment will contain one ormore nonstick members near the knees for which at least a portion of thenonslip members is on the interior of the garment.

The garment may also be a scratchglove designed to resist falling offdue to an infant's movements. Such movements may include flailing,continuous rubbing, sucking on the glove, etc. Said scratchgloves arepreferably constructed using two nonslip members near the pinky andthumb. As with the above, the nonslip members can be varied in location,shape, and thickness. At least a portion of at least one nonslip memberresults in a nonslip portion on the interior of the glove garment.Scratchgloves are generally constructed with an enclosed configurationof fabric designed to cover the hands with an opening at one enddesigned to allow placement of the hands in the glove.

The garment may also be pants, tights, or any other garment with anopening. In any embodiment, the placement of one or more nonslip membersis as described herein can be varied as described in the DetailedDescription and at least one or a potion of one nonslip member islocated in an area which would result in the reduction in the garment'sability to slip or fall off.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment infant sock viewed as wornby a crawling infant.

FIG. 2A is a perspective view of an embodiment infant sock viewed fromthe top

FIG. 2B is a perspective view of an embodiment infant sock viewed frombehind.

FIG. 3A is a perspective view of an embodiment infant sock viewed asworn by a carried infant.

FIG. 3B is a perspective view of an embodiment infant sock being pulledby its wearer.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an embodiment infant scratchglove andits preferred nonslip members.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

This disclosure pertains to a garment for use with an infant designed tostay on the infant despite the movements and forces applied to thegarments of infants. As used herein, the term “infant” referscollectively to a young child, baby, or toddler. References to childrenherein generally refer to this class of babies, infants, toddlers andolder children as well.

In the preferred embodiment, FIG. 1, the garment is a sock designed tostay on an infant's foot. The “sock” referred to herein refers to anembodiment of the disclosure where the garment is a sock designed tostay on an infant's foot. The sock contains one or more non-slip memberson the interior of the sock in locations designed to prevent slippagebased on the movements of an infant. The sock generally consists of atubular lower portion with a closed end 110 and an upper portion with anopen end 112. The upper portion 112 may contain flexible, pliable fiberssuch as elastic to permit the stretching of the sock over the heel ofthe wearer in order to don the sock.

Continuing with FIG. 1 (the preferred embodiment of the garmentfashioned as a sock), in order to prevent slippage of the sock off theinfant's foot, the sock incorporates one or more nonslip members,preferably in two locations. The nonslip member(s) used have a greatercoefficient of friction than is present in other portions of the sockbody 110 and preferably greater than the material used to construct theupper opening (sock opening) 112.

The location of the nonslip member is preferably designed to counteractforces commonly encountered by, specifically, the sock of an infant soas to cause it to fall off. As depicted in FIG. 1, a crawling baby 114will extend its leg outward, then retract it. This results in a forcewhich runs opposite 102 to the direction of the retracting knee 104. Inorder to prevent slippage from the forces caused by this movement, thenonslip member is applied to the interior of the sock body so as to makecontact with roughly the middle top portion of the infant's foot 106.

FIG. 3A and 3B depict forces exerted on an infant sock in other commonsituations. A carried baby 304 moves its foot in the directionsindicated 302, 306, resulting in drag forces on the side of the baby incontact with the person carrying the baby which cause pulling on thesock so as to remove it. Thus, the preferred embodiment of the garmentfashioned as a sock is designed to include a nonslip member near theheel of the sock 308 to combat the forces applied to the side of thesock facing the person carrying the baby. Although not pictured, thoseskilled in the art will recognize that one or more additional nonslipmembers, such as on the side of the sock may be used and this disclosureincludes these and other variations described herein.

FIG. 3B depicts another situation common to babies. One reason infantsocks come off is because the baby tugs at the end of the sock,resulting in the application forces on the sock that pull the sock off310. Although adults do this for the express purpose of removing theirown socks, infant caregivers generally do not want babies removing theirsocks because it leads to loss of the sock and reduction in the baby'swarmth and protection. In the preferred embodiment, therefore, thenonslip member is present at the heel of the sock to combat theseforces. As with FIGS. 1-2, FIG. 3 also depicts a preferred embodimentwhere the nonslip members are on the interior of the sock 308, 312 only,although one or more nonslip members may also transverse the sockresulting in a nonslip surface on the exterior as well as the interiorof the sock. Any nonslip member referred to herein may also appear onthe exterior of the garment. However, at least a portion of one nonslipmember is present on the interior surface of the garment is thepreferred embodiment as it results in aided grip of the garment on theinfant and resulting nonslip garment.

The location of the nonslip member is not limited to its application orincorporation in the two places on the interior of the sock body asdepicted in FIGS. 1 and 2A, B. One or more nonslip members may be placedin one or more locations on the interior or exterior of the garment. Thetwo locations pictured in FIG. 1 are a preferred embodiment whichmaximizes the nonslip effect while minimizing the cost of nonslipmaterial.

In FIGS. 1-3 the nonslip members are depicted as having a preferredcurved shape 204, 208, but those skilled in the art will recognize thatdifferent shapes may be used. The nonslip member may be shaped in arectangle, circle, oval, or other shape so as to have the nonslip effectdescribed herein. The nonslip member may also be designed as acollection of smaller nonslip members generally arranged in the shape ofa rectangle, circle, oval, or other suitable shape or spacing so that atleast a portion of the nonslip member resides on the interior of thesock. One skilled will also recognize that the nonslip members may bemade with varying widths as well as size. One nonslip member may befabricated to have multiple widths across its surface.

FIGS. 2A and 2B depict the preferred location and shape of the nonslipmembers such that two nonslip members, one on the heel portion 208 andone on the arch portion of the sock 204 are present. The use of a curvedshape on the arch 204 is preferred, as it spreads the nonslip propertieslaterally and vertically. In particular, a nonslip member itself will besubject to the same forces applied to the exterior of the sock 310, 302,306, 102. For example, when the infant crawls forward, a force 102 willbe applied on the sock opposite the direction of the infant's forwarddirection 104. In order to further counter the force applied to thenonslip member, in addition to the exterior of the sock, the use of acurved shaped nonslip member results in a nonslip member which has agreater grip on the side of the infant's foot. This will help decreasewear and tear on the sock which may lead to the eventual separation ofthe nonslip member from the sock body. Variations which have the sameeffect may be used.

As depicted in FIG. 2A, the preferred location of one nonslip member 204may be applied on the sock body or incorporated in the sock body. Thisfigure depicts the preferred embodiment where the nonslip member is onthe interior of the sock. Nonslip members may be applied on the interiorof the sock or transversing the sock so as to be present on both theinterior and exterior surface of the sock. The nonslip members may beapplied by methods known in the art, such as sewing or by thermalprocess.

The sock body 202 refers to the tubular portion of the sock covering thefoot arch, toes, and bottom surface of the foot. The sock opening 206refers to the tubular portion of the sock that extends towards thedirection of the leg and contains an opening at one end and is connectedto the sock body 202 at the other end. The sock body is preferablyconstructed using a breathable material such as cotton, but may alsoinclude synthetic fibers or a combination of both. The fibers may havevarious weaves. The sock body and sock opening may be constructed usingpatterns suitable for constructing a tubular sock body and opening whichpermits a foot to enter. The sock opening may be at ankle level, or befashioned above a tall tubular sock portion extending from the sock bodycovering the foot in order to cover the ankles and leg. The sock bodymay vary in length and or construction so as to accommodate wearers ofdifferent ages and sizes. For example, the quantity of fabric used willcorrespond to the average sizes of infant feet at a variety of ages.

The nonslip members may be made out of material with a high coefficientof friction suitable for the intended purpose. Preferably, the nonslipmembers will be fashioned out of medical grade silicone such as Engage®sold by Dow. Alternatively, a polyurethane may be used or a combinationof both or other material and mixtures with a similar coefficients offriction as these materials. The nonslip member has a greatercoefficient of friction than the sock body and sock opening and isdesigned to provide a greater gripping surface than material used in thesock body and preferably the sock opening. The nonslip member preferablyhas a greater coefficient of friction than other portions of the sock,those other portions for example being those that provide stretchproperties to the sock that enable a better fit, or, for example, anelasticized sock opening typically present in socks known in the art.

The garment may also be modified so as to be used in a nonslipscratchglove (FIG. 4) or nonslip pant (not pictured) or tights (notpictured), or any other garment which has an opening and is subject toforces not common in adults but common in infants. The garments includeone or more nonslip members as described herein and contain at least onenonslip member in locations susceptible to forces which cause slippagedue to infant movement. In FIG. 4, the preferred construction of thegarment fashioned as a scratchglove includes a glove shaped as a mitten402 with two nonslip members 404, 406. The scratchglove body 402 may beconstructed with the same or different materials as with the sockembodiment's sock body and sock opening. The nonslip members are asdescribed herein previously in terms of shape and material. Thepreferred embodiment is a shape of a long oval with narrowing at thecenter 404, 406, although other shapes and configurations may be used.Preferably, one or more nonslip member is placed so that the areas belowthe infant's pinkie finger and thumb are in contact with the nonslipmember; these preferred locations are pictured in FIG. 4.

The foregoing has been a detailed description of two preferredembodiments of the nonslip infant garment, however, variousmodifications and equivalents can be made without departing from thescope and spirit of the invention. For example, the sock can be modifiedso as to additionally include nonstick surface(s) on the outside toprevent slipping while a child is walking. This would accommodate achild who is learning to walk, but still crawling, or a child who iscrawling and using aids to walk (such as walkers and furniture edges).The sock may also be modified for use with adults or older children. Thegarment can be fashioned into articles other than socks and gloves anduse various ornamentation, fiber blends, and material suitable forproviding a nonslip surface. Therefore, this description is mean to betaken by way of example and not to limit the scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A sock comprising A tubular sock body adapted tocover a foot wherein the sock body is closed at one end for receivingtoes and attached on the opposite end to a sock opening where the sockopening is adapted to receive at least an ankle portion of a leg, and atleast one nonslip member positioned on at least a portion of theinterior surface of the sock body so as to cover at least a portion ofthe top of the foot.
 2. A sock according to claim 1, wherein at leastone nonslip member is positioned on the interior of the sock body so asto cover at least a portion of the heel of the foot.
 3. A sock accordingto claim 1 wherein the nonslip member(s) are comprised of material witha higher coefficient of friction than the material of the sock body. 4.A sock according to claim 1 wherein at least one nonslip membertransverses the sock body so that the nonslip member is exposed on boththe interior and exterior surfaces of the sock.
 5. A sock according toclaim 1, wherein at least one nonslip member is further positioned onthe exterior of the sock.
 6. A sock according to claim 1, wherein atleast one nonslip member is a curved shape.
 7. A sock according to claim1, wherein at least one nonslip member is a quadrangular shape.
 8. Asock according to claim 1, wherein at least one nonslip member is anoval shape.
 9. A sock according to claim 1, wherein at least one nonslipmember is a circular shape.
 10. A sock according to claim 1 wherein atleast one nonslip member further comprises a collection of smallernonslip members so that at least a portion of the collection of smallernonslip member(s) resides on the interior of the sock.
 11. A sockaccording to claim 1, wherein the sock is sized to fit an infant foot.12. A sock according to claim 1, wherein the sock is sized to fit achild's foot.
 13. A sock according to claim 1, wherein the sock furthercomprises a second tubular member connected to the sock opening forcovering at least a portion of a leg.
 14. An infant scratchglovecomprising a mitten body adapted to cover an infant's hand having aclosed portion for receiving the hand and an opening for enveloping theinfant's wrist, wherein the scratchglove further comprises at least onenonslip member positioned on at least a portion of the interior surfaceof the mitten body.
 15. An infant scratchglove according to claim 14,wherein at least one nonslip member is positioned on the interiorsurface of the scratchglove adjacent to the opening.